


Come What May

by 9r7g5h



Category: Toy Story Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-20
Updated: 2013-01-20
Packaged: 2017-11-26 05:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/647045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9r7g5h/pseuds/9r7g5h
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Misunderstandings can ruin lives, but perhaps a little dedication can fix them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come What May

Buzz yawned as he pulled into the parking garage of the apartment complex, the dim lights that lit the area after sunset tinting the room orange. It had been a long day at the station, one filled with tests, training, and everything else he had to do to prepare for his send off, and he was glad to be home.

Finally, after training with Star Command for years, after being sent on mission after mission to the planets and stations that surrounded their perfect little world, he was finally getting to lead his own team. For two years, he and a highly specialized crew of trained agents would be traveling through the Canis Major system, checking up on how the newest batch of settlers were coping with the differences between Earth and their new home along with scouting for any currently undiscovered planets that could support human life. It would be dangerous, it would be tedious, but he was ready for the challenge.

Well, almost.

Putting the car into park, Buzz smiled slightly as he reached into the glove compartment of his car, his fingers wrapping around the small black box he had hidden there a few weeks ago. Inside of its black velvet confines, he could perfectly image the ring he had bought, a simple golden band with flowers etched into the sides and three small gems set as the center of the blooms, a diamond in the center with a ruby and an emerald flanking it on either side. It was nothing special or flashy, nothing that would catch and hold the eyes of everyone in the same room, but she had never been into that kind of thing anyway. And truthfully, he did not need another reason for people to look at his girl. She herself was already reason enough for people to stare.

Returning the box back it its hiding place, Buzz sighed as he gathered up his coat and workout clothes, triple checking to make sure that everything was locked tight for the night before starting towards the door that would lead to the apartment he sometimes shared with his girlfriend, depending on whether she was on good terms with her brother or not. As he walked, he could not help his growing smile as he once again thought of the ring, his mind imagining her reaction as he placed it upon her finger and asked her the single most important question he had ever asked anyone in his entire life.

Hopefully, his imagined reaction of one Jessica Pride when he asked her to become his wife would closely match reality.

His smile widening even more as a thin beam of light showed through the crack under the door, Buzz quickened his pace, his keys jingling happily in his hands as he searched for the right one. Reaching it, it was not long before he heard the satisfying click that allowed him entrance to his home. Slowly opening the door, he winced as the old hinges that held the thick wooded barrier creaked, alerting anyone who was still awake to his presence. Gently pushing it shut behind him, he shrugged out of his jacket, hung it up on the coat stand he had placed by the door a few weeks ago, turned around, and just barely missed getting hit in the head with a plate that grazed his ear and shattered against the wall behind him, spraying him with dust and china fragments.

Instantly he crouched down, automatically reaching towards where his laser would have been had he been in uniform. Cursing the fact that he had changed into his normal clothes at work, his hand instead flashed towards the baseball bat he always kept next to the door for cases like this, for that one day when he would be weaponless and need to defend himself against whatever horrible creature had found a way into him home. His eyes sweeping over the room, Buzz could not help but pause as they landed on his girlfriend who was standing in the kitchen entryway, her own emerald orbs trying to kill him many times over as they burned their way into his skin. In her hand was another plate, just like the one that he had been able to duck a moment ago. But it was neither the plate nor her obvious anger that had him confused.

Instead, it was the large suitcase that was standing up right next to her, bulging with what he had to believe was everything of hers that normally stayed at the apartment.

Realizing that his life was no longer in immediate danger from some intergalactic threat, Buzz quickly raised himself to his full height, keeping a close eye on his irate girlfriend in case she should suddenly improve her aim and try again to peg him in the head with her remaining missile. Throwing down the baseball bat, he returned her glare with as much force as he could muster, the adrenaline rush helping to fuel his rage.

“What the hell was that, Jessie? Why in the name of the founding father of Star Command did you just throw a plate at me?”

Immediately, Buzz knew he had said the wrong thing as the fire in her eyes intensified, turning from twin bonfires into double infernos, her body trembling as it tried to contain her anger. Reaching out, Jessie’s only response was to push the button on their old fashion answering machine, playing the message that had been left there for him earlier that morning. His eyes widening in horror as he listened, it was all he could do to remain still as the recording filled the silence between them, digging his grave a little bit deeper with each word that was spoken.

“Hi Buzzy. I was wondering when we were going to meet up again. You know, so we can continue that thing that we’ve been doing for a couple of weeks now. Ken is out of town for a few days, so you could come over here, or we could meet at your place if Jessie is still going on that spa day with Dolly. Or we could just meet up at the hotel, much less chance of us being interrupted that way. Either way, give me a call at the normal number so we can plan everything, and don’t forget to bring the _things_ with you this time. It was a mess trying to improvise without them, and we don’t want a repeat of last time, now would we? Anyway, hope to hear from you soon! Bye-bye, ranger.”

For a long while, a heavy silence filled the room, broken once only by the mechanical voice of the phone as it told them there were no more new messages. Jessie was waiting for him to begin, to explain to her what it was that she had just heard, to tell her whether or not her worse fears were true. Buzz, on the other hand, was shocked beyond all reason as his mind ran through all the different ways he could get out of this mess without telling her the truth and confessing to his secret. It was Jessie who spoke first, spitting out her words from between clenched teeth at the stunned ranger.

“You’ve been cheating on me. With Barbra, of all people. Why, Buzz? Why would yah do it?”

Allowing the wall to support his weight, Buzz watched in shock as the fire suddenly left her, leaving a broken sadness in its place to shine from her eyes as they started to shimmer with unshed tears. Stepping forward, he reached out to hug her, to take her into his arms and drive away her crazy notions, when she backed away, slowly shaking her head.

“Jessie,” he said softly, “you have this all wrong. I would never cheat on you with anyone. I love you.”

“Then what have you been doing, sneaking around all the time and keeping secrets,” Jessie shot back, the fire reigniting for a single moment before once more dying away as another flood of hopeless sorrow drowned it. “Face it, Buzz, you’re only saying that you love me because we’ve been sleeping together, I’m your best friend’s younger sister, and Woody would kill yah if he knew. I always knew that this wouldn’t turn into anything real, but what gets me is the fact that you didn’t even have the guts to tell me that you wanted out.” Letting out a snort, Jessie threw back her head to stare at him with her examining eyes, narrowing them as she let out a harsh huff. “I thought space rangers were supposed to be of a different breed. Guess I was wrong.”

Anger exploded within Buzz as he listened to her talk. Drawing upon the years of training he had been put through from the time he was young enough to stand, Buzz forced the rage back into a box in the back of his head, forcing his heart rate to calm as he spoke. It would bite him in the butt later, when he left to go cool off, but that could wait until after he had fixed his home life.

“That’s crap, Jessie, and you know it. I’ve been telling you I love you for years, and the fact that you could think otherwise is ridiculous.”

“So now I’m ridiculous, am I? Ridiculous for what? Being afraid that my boyfriend is sneaking around behind my back with one of my friends, an accusation he won’t even try to deny? Tell me Buzz, how is that ridiculous?”

“It’s ridiculous because it hasn’t and will never happen. This whole thing is based upon an unfounded, illogical fear that I’m going to abandon you or some-“

“So now you’re calling me illogical?”

Buzz let out a growl as he ran his fingers through his hair, wondering why he had even tried the stupid box trick. He had never been good at controlling his emotions outside of work, especially when they concerned the fiery cowgirl before him. The moment he had started talking, her weapons had come back out, as if she was determined to hate him for something that he did not do. Clenching his hands into fists, Buzz forced himself to talk a deep breath as words began to pop into his head, ones that might just be able to fix everything if he could get her to listen for two minutes.

“Yes, Jessie, I’ve been sneaking around to meet up with Barb, but it isn’t- damn it, Jessie!”

Ducking just in time to avoid being hit by the second plate, Buzz once more found himself crouching down as he stared up at his girlfriend, only this time it was to watch as she gathered up the suitcase that laid at her feet and head towards the same exact door he himself had just walked in through. Panic replaced his anger as he lept to his feet, his hand reaching out to wrap itself around her wrist. They had fought many times before, had so many spats and arguments that it was useless to try and keep count. None had been as bad as this, granted, but even with their clashing personalities, they had always managed to work things out. She could not just leave without even letting him explain himself, could she?

“Jessie, please, I didn’t mean it that way. The two of us have been working on a surprise for you, Woody, and Ken. We’ve been planning all these things, and the hotel is where we’ve been planning the parties and the things are the lists that have everything we’ve decided written on them. I know the message sounds bad, but really, it isn’t anything like you believe. If you’ll just let me explain, I can-“

“Buzz, please. Stop.”

Buzz paused as Jessie turned to look at him once more, her eyes shining with tears that were threatening to spill over. Tearing her wrist from his grasp, Jessie threw open the door, her back turned towards him as she tried to collect herself. Taking a single shuddering breath, her hands clenching into fists of their own, Jessie said the one thing that she knew would make him let her go.

“I just can’t do this anymore. The lies, the secrets, this make-believe life we’ve been living. I just can’t. And I’m sorry to say this to you, but I’m pregnant Buzz, and I can’t rightly say that the child’s yours. So please, just let me go.” With that, Jessie ran from the apartment, the door swinging shut after her with a dull thud that could not quite cover the sound of his heart breaking.

————————————————————————————————————————

Buzz did not know how long he just stood there after she left, staring at the door he had just watched the love of his life walk out of, nor did he know when it was that his legs finally refused to support his weight, sending him falling to the china covered floor with a muffled thud. For a long while he just sat there, hoping against hope that what had just happened had not been real, that in just a moment Jessie would walk back into the room, her head held high as she laughed at the look on his face, teasing him for falling for such an old trick. Or perhaps she would come back with that look in her eyes that could instantly make him feel guilty even if he was the one in the right, wanting to talk about the voicemail she had received now that she had cooled down and gotten a hold of her emotions. And perhaps she would explain that last comment of hers, about being pregnant and the child not being his. Where in the name of the sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln had that come from?

But as the hours passed, that hope dwindled down into a nothingness that filled him with despair.

She was gone. As simple as that, after a confusing fight that even after hours of thinking about it still made absolutely no sense to him, three years of working for their relationship, of tiptoeing around his work, her schooling, and her older brother- who would have sent him to the hospital faster than Bullseye could run- was ruined. Gone in a glorious blaze of smoke and flames that he had no way of suppressing. For a while he cursed his own stupidity, cursed his pride at hoping to keep the surprise parties he and Barbie had been planning for the siblings and Ken a secret. But because he was too stupid and kept his mouth shut, the best thing that had ever happened to him was gone, and he had no clue where to even begin looking once morning came.

Of course, he was going to try and make things right between them, to at least figure out what her last statement meant, but as the sleepless night continued to travel towards dawn, Buzz was still no closer to getting over his shocked confusion then he had been hours ago, when the accusations first began to fall from his beloveds’ lips.

The sky was just beginning to darken into that deep black that proceeded sunrise, literally the darkest hour of the night, when the door to his apartment swung open, startling him for the first time from the thoughts that had been occupying his mind. Nodding a greeting towards the man that stood before him, Buzz could not help but sigh as he pulled his legs up so he was sitting Indian style, awaiting the verdict from his best friend and girlfriend’s older brother.

“She told you, huh? I’m guessing from the things you brought with you that you’re here to kill me. I won’t blame you, Woody. I have been dating your sister behind your back for the past three years.”

For a moment Woody just stood there, looking around at the broken china that littered the floor and his friend sitting on the ground, looking like he had just gotten trampled by a herd of horses. Lowering the baseball bat he had grabbed on his way out of his own home, he also holstered the pistol he had loaded on his way over, ready to beat the living daylights out of the jerk that had driven his sister back home in tears before threatening to put a bullet between his eyes if he ever looked at her again. It had surprised him, seeing on her GPS that the last place she had parked her car had been here at Buzz’s place, but he had brushed it off as her coming to see him for emotional support, nothing more. But seeing the look in his friend’s eyes, Woody could feel the anger he had been harboring towards the nameless, faceless man who had hurt his kin fading. By the look of things, he was hurting just as much, if not more.

Letting out a long sigh, Woody let himself fall to the floor next to Buzz, careful not to cut himself on the sharp debris that surrounded them. Leaning back so he was resting against the wall, he shook his head, wondering just what the heck had happened between the two that things had become so messed up so quickly.

“She never told me anything. Showed up about an hour ago at the ranch, eyes redder then then a drunks’ at an open bar, looking like she just wanted curl up and die. Never seen her so upset over something. She wouldn’t say anything, just went up to her old room and locked me out. Had to wake up Dolly to get anything out of her, and even then, all we got was that she and her boyfriend had had a fight and broke it off. Got Hamm to hack into her car’s navigation system, and the last place she had been was here. I was hoping that maybe you could tell me where the son of a gun lived, but I guess I’ve already found him.”

Glancing over at Buzz out of the corner of his eye, Woody let out another sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair, knocking his hat to the ground behind him. Grabbing it before it rolled too far out of reach, he began twisting it in his hands as he pulled together three years of clues and hints that he had managed to gather as to the identity of Jessie’s boyfriend, many of them only now just making sense now that he knew who it was. It was with a displeased but amused grin that he realized that, while he had been working on trying to uncover the identity of her secret beau, the perpetrator had been his second in command the whole time. Suddenly, all of their missed plans to follow her whenever she went on a date made perfect sense.

“You know Buzz, I really should hate you right now. I probably will in a few hours or so. Three years ago, Jessie was what, fifteen? We were twenty. I should haul your space butt down to the police and get you booked, but I really can’t blame yah right now. Jessie’s been telling me for years now to treat yah like my brother, because one day you would be. I guess I just never really believed her. But what Jessie wants, Jessie will eventually get, especially since I imposed the whole ‘I won’t ask, just don’t get killed’ rule on the ranch ever since our parents died. And truthfully, I’m actually glad it was you and not some random kid she just met while wandering the streets one night. At least with you, it’ll be easier to make it look like an accident. But now, why don’t you tell me why it is I have a broken hearted sister waiting for me back home, so I can decide whether or not this gun is going to see any action tonight.”

Buzz told him. It was almost a relief to finally tell someone how he had been meeting with Barbie every chance he could get for the past month to help her plan the three different surprise parties, one for Jessie, one for Woody himself, and one for her own boyfriend, Ken. How, in one of her stupid blonde moments, she actually called him on his house phone and left a message so vague that Jessie had immediately thought the worst when she heard it. How they had had their fight and he had been unable to get in a complete sentence through the whole thing, ending with her walking out on him with only her strange, cryptic message left for him to puzzle over.

The laughter that had come after hearing Barbie’s message dying away, Woody could not help the twinge of anger and sadness he felt as he watched Buzz tear himself up over the situation, looking more lost then he had ever seen his space friend. He knew his sister could be harsh in her own way, for she had never seen the point in pulling her punches or her words when she did not need to, but this had gone way too far. Snapping his fingers in front of Buzz’s nose to gain his attention, Woody thickly swallowed to clear his throat before talking, his own eyes gaining a faraway look as he remembered the origins of Jessie’s escape route.

“Hey Buzz, do you remember Her?”

It did not take a rocket scientist to realize who it was that Woody was talking about. Woody’s old girlfriend from years ago was the only person Buzz had ever heard him refer to as ‘Her’ with that tone of voice, something wishful mixed in with the bitter pain of loss. Nodding, he could not help but wonder what the cowboys question had to do with his current situation, unless he was going to give him advice on how to get over Jessie and move on, something Woody had obviously failed to do even after all this time.

“You kinda know what happened right, how she went in for surgery and never got off the table? It was a heart implant, I know, and they’re risky, even with today’s technology, but that still doesn’t change the fact that she’s dead. But what you, what none of you except Jessie knows is that, two nights before she went in, the two of us also got into a fight. I just walked inside the door and was met with the sight of her packing up all of her stuff. She wouldn’t listen, and right before she left, she told me the exact same thing Jessie told you. It was so she would make me let go.”

Bowing his head, Woody forced himself to hold back the tears as her face floated in front of him, perfect in every detail, the exact same as it had been all those years ago, the last time he had seen her alive and well.

“She never even told me about the surgery. Later that day I got a letter from the hospital from her, explaining that she had been scared, so she broke it off with me in the hopes that it would make things a bit easier for me to move on if things went south. She told me that the reason she said that was because she knew it would break my heart more than anything else she could have said. She knew that if I thought she had cheated on me and wanted out of the relationship, then I would just let her go and get on with my life. And for that night, she was right. It kept me from going after her Buzz, and that’s the one thing I’m always going to regret.”

Jumping to his feet, startling the space ranger next to him, Woody forced Buzz to his own in a burst of energy, his sorrow pushed to the back of his mind for him to deal with later. Pulling the dazed man out of the apartment, he led the way to the parking garage where he had left his ride, the words spilling out of his mouth as they walked.

“That’s one mistake I’m not going to let you make too, Buzz. Jessie just said that to shock and confuse you, I’m sure of it. And seeing your state, it looks like it worked. But I can also see how much you love her, and I’m going to make sure the two of you have your happy ending. Even if I do have to kill you after the two of you make up, but that can wait for a little bit.”

Throwing open the final glass door that separated them from the world outside, Woody quickly trotted over to the far side of the garage, glad to see that his familiar friend was still waiting exactly where he had left him. Swinging himself up into the saddle, he used his new height to swiftly spot where Buzz had wandered off to. The ranger quickly grabbed something out of the glove apartment of his car before making his way over to where the cowboy sat proudly upon his steed, Bullseye’s ears twitching in excitement as he anticipated the run. Pulling himself up so he was sitting behind Woody, Buzz did not try to hide the expression on his face as he shifted around, trying to find a comfortable spot on the bony rump of the stallion below him.

“Why didn’t you bring a car, Woody? It would be much faster the Bullseye. And more comfortable.”

Glancing over his shoulder to stare at his friend, Woody just gave him a small grin in reply, his voice almost glad as he answered the question before the horse took off, running faster than the wind towards his home.

“Horses don’t have speed limits.”

Laughing as Bullseye took off across the parking lot, Woody did not even try to curb the joy he felt at hearing Buzz’s yelp of surprise. As far as he was concerned, he deserved it.

————————————————————————————————————————

It was not long before they reached the edge of the city, the concrete and steel abruptly giving way to the rolling plains of the country side that surrounded them. The paved road beneath them swiftly turned to gravel as they left the city’s jurisdiction, then even quicker turned to dirt, puffs of red rising up from under Bullseye’s hooves to cover them in tasteless grit that almost shone in the light of the rising sun, giving them a painted look in the early morn’. Time seemed to speed up for Buzz as he struggled to keep his seat on the bouncing horse, as if the universe was helping him make up for the time he had missed with Jessie by sitting dazed and confused inside his apartment. But even with the cosmic gift, it was still with a sigh of relief and a sore rump that Pride Farm came into view.

Barely waiting until Bullseye had come to a complete stop before sliding to the ground, it was with wobbly legs and a silent curse under his breath on all horses that Buzz raced towards the main house, weaving his way through the small congregation of co-workers and friends that lived on the collective farm that had gathered at the disturbance. Seeing Dolly waiting for him on the steps that led into the house, he slowed for a moment to acknowledge her presence before sliding past her, expertly avoiding the tongue-lashing the woman was known for. Almost as if the world had fallen away behind him when he entered through that door, silence ruled as he quickly made his way through the familiar halls that made up the home of the family he knew and loved so dearly.

Hopefully, he would still be welcomed in the days to come, providing he even wanted to be there after the events of the last few hours.

It did not take long for him to reach her room, the one place he had only glimpsed through cracked doors when he had been younger. Although Woody’s room had always been fair game for the three of them, Jessie’s had always remained a question within an enigma within a mystery, something to know about but to never see in real life. Well, now was to be his chance.

The first thing that hit him was the pink.

The detestable color that Jessie had made her disdain for well-known over the years covered every available surface of the room, as if the designer had thought that throwing enough of the color in her face would make her like it. In a pitiful attempt to cover the offending theme, posters of horses and spaceships covered everything, clashing so wonderfully with the walls that it almost hurt his eyes to look at them. However, it was not the horrible interior designing job that held Buzz’s gaze, that caused his gut to twist into painfully terrible knot and a cold hand to clench around his heart.

The beautiful, sobbing woman on the bed held full responsibility for that.

“Jessie,” Buzz murmured as he approached her bedside, his hand automatically reaching out to brush the tears that fell from her face. Without even looking, her own swiped towards him, knocking it away before he could even get close to touching her.

“Don’t touch me, Buzz,” Jessie spat as her muffled voice radiated from the pillow, her body stiffening as she became totally aware of his presence. “Just go away.”

“We need to talk,” Buzz replied soothingly as he fell to his knees by the side of her bed, careful to stay just out of reach of her powerful back hand, though close enough that it was clear he was not going anywhere until they had talked. Rocking back on his heels, it was with a heavy sigh that some of the tension Buzz had not realized had built within him left, allowing himself to slump against the wall as he ran his fingers through his short bristle of hair. “I know that what you heard sounds bad, but if you let me explain-“

“Explain what, Buzz? That you’ve been sneaking off to see one of my best friends behind my back? Seems pretty clear to me,” Jessie challenged, though the anger that had infused her voice earlier had been replaced with a deep weariness. Tightening her grip on her pillow, Jessie pressed her face farther into the soft cloth, momentarily worrying Buzz about the amount of air she had to breathe before her voice brought him back to the issue at hand. “Please, just go away.”

“No,” Buzz said stubbornly, his jaw locking as he reached out to grab her hand, his grip quickly becoming vice-like as she tried unsuccessfully to pull away. “I’m not going to go away until you understand that, no matter how bad that message sounded, I never cheated on you! By the stars, haven’t I made it clear to you that I love you, and that Barbra is nothing more than a friend. She’s more like a little sister than anything else, and neither of us would betray your or Ken’s trust like that. For the past month the two of us have been planning surprise parties for the two of you and Woody. If you don’t believe me, call up Lenny. He’ll tell you that we never left the main lobby of the hotel, and the entire time we never talked about a single thing other than decorations and finger foods. Please Jessie,” Buzz said softly as his grip around her wrist loosened, his hand slipping down to intertwine his fingers with hers. “You have to believe me.”

“What are the ‘things’,” Jessie demanded, desperately grasping at the straws of her argument, though the way her thumb had automatically started rubbing small circles against the back of his hand like it always did gave him hope. “What are the things Barbra said that you had to bring with you?”

“Name, numbers, times, just things we needed to contact the people who were helping us with the party planning.” Buzz said with a shrug, his free hand reaching up to brush away the few strands of hair that had attached themselves to Jessie’s cheek. “We only made one list, and Barbie decided that it would be easier for me to keep it, since she lives with Ken and you don’t have a habit of going through my stuff. Last time we got together to plan things out, I had accidentally lost it, and it was a huge mess trying to figure out who exactly it was that we needed to call.” Tightening his hold on her hand, Buzz forced a smile onto his face as one of Jessie’s bloodshot eyes came into view, revealing itself from the confines of the pillow. “I swear, that’s all that happened.”

“I’ve made a mess out of things, haven’t I,” Jessie asked after a long moment of silence, her tone regretful and miserable as she turned to show the rest of her face. “I’ve made one hell of a mess out of everything.”

“Not really, no,” Buzz said with a shrug, desperate for things to return to normal between them. “If I had been in your shoes, and had heard someone like Ken leave a message like that, my mind would have jumped to the exact same conclusion. But, Jessie…” Here Buzz let them lap once more into silence as he tried to release the words that had become stuck in his throat. Taking a deep breath, he tried again. “Jessie, before you left, you said that you-“

“That I was pregnant and the child wasn’t yours? Well…” Jessie pushed herself into sitting position so that she could properly face Buzz, the stone in her stomach saying that she should at least face him directly when she told him the news. “Luckily for you, or unluckily, depending on how you look at things, half of that was false.”

“Half,” Buzz gulped as his mouth suddenly went dry, his eyes widening as he tried to process the lie that had suddenly become the truth. “If only half of that was false, then half of that must have been true, and since one condition relied upon the other to even exist, that means…” His voice trailing off, Buzz sent Jessie a desperate, searching gaze as his mind accepted everything she was telling him, as if waiting for her to deny that the allegations were true.

Unfortunately, that was not going to happen.

“Bingo, partner,” Jessie said softly, her eyes adverted as she spoke. “I’m pregnant, Buzz, and the little rascal just so happens to be yours.” For a long, panicked moment, Buzz could do nothing more than just sit there, his pupils pinholes as his breathing came in shallow, almost ragged gasps, his mind racing a thousand miles a second as he struggled at once to understand all of the implications Jessie’s revelation had for them. However, as he watched the swirling emotions build within her eyes, worry and a hint of hope the strongest amongst them, for only the second time in his life, Buzz stopped thinking and just acted.

Of course, the first time was the reason they were having this conversation to begin with, but even that passing thought did not stop Buzz as he reached into his pocket, opened the little black box he had brought with him, and wordlessly placed the ring before the woman he loved.

“Buzz,” Jessie whispered in shock as she stared at the ring that lay before her, her eyes wide and glistening as she reached out to touch it. However, they quickly became hard and cool as her hand paused in its decent, a familiar flame burning within them as she turned to face him.

“I was going to propose anyway,” Buzz said defensively, his hands raised in a pitiful attempt at a barrier. “I’ve had the ring for a while now, and I was going to wait for a better time to ask this, but given the circumstances, I think, well…”

“I don’t want you marrying me just because I’m pregnant Buzz,” Jessie said calmly, her voice cool as she used the tips of her fingers to flip the box closed once more before nudging back towards him. “I won’t have the consequences of a single mistake we made almost four months ago be the reason we’re forced down the aisle.”

“Then I’m guessing the many ‘mistakes’ we’ve made since then don’t count either,” Buzz questioned her in a suddenly teasing voice, a small smile managing to make its way over his lips as her cheeks flushed an embarrassed red. “Jessie,” Buzz said softly, his voice suddenly serious, “I don’t want that either, nor do I want you to think I’m that kind of guy. But I do love you, and I won’t leave until I am sure that the two of you are going to be okay while I’m gone.” Here Buzz held up his hand to quiet the stream of protest that he knew was coming, his voice rising to overpower her own. “I’m not asking that you marry me this second Jessie, or even before the baby’s born. All I’m asking is that, someday, you will consent to become my wife.” Picking up the ring box, he once more opened it and held it before her, his eyes shining with hope that her answer would be favorable. “What do you say, Jessie? One day, will you marry me?”

For a long moment neither of them moved, their gazes locked in a battle of will that only had two outcomes. Finally, her eyes softening as a small smile crossed her face, Jessie held out her hand and nodded ‘yes.’ His own smile growing like a contagious weed, Buzz silently removed the ring from its box, slid it onto her finger, and, for the first time, kissed his fiancée.

Wrapping his arms around her, his hands caressing the taunt muscles of her stomach, Buzz smiled happily as she sunk into his grasp, her head pillowing itself on his shoulder. Nuzzling her neck with the tip of his nose, it was with eyes fixed upon the sun that was slowly filling her window that they came to a conclusion.

They knew not what life would bring, but come what may, they would face it together, as a family.

————————————————————————————————————————

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the episode should have gone!”

With a disgusted sigh, thirteen-year-old Bonnie let her toys fall to the ground, her rage building as she began to pace around the room, instinctively hopping over the dolls she had left scattered on the floor during her reenactment of the latest episode of her favorite drama.

“I mean really, Stan has been in love with Amy for the past three seasons, and he even did Jeff’s stupid test to show that he always be there for her. He even gave up that great job that would have turned him into a millionaire by now with that company in Bermuda so he could stay near her. And now that he’s trying to do something nice for the two of them, she accuses him of cheating on her and she walks out because of a stupid misunderstanding! How fair is that? It’s a surprise party, for Pete’s sake! The two of them can’t know, or else it ruins everything. I’m gonna kill Martha though, she should have known better then to leave a message on the home phone! It almost sounded like she wanted everyone to think that they were sleeping with each other. And really, who else can be the baby’s father? The only other guys that are left on the show besides Stan are either related to her, already in a completely committed relationship, or dead. Ugh! I can’t believe I have to wait until an entire two weeks until the next episode.”

Falling face first onto her bed with a loud ‘oomph,’ Bonnie let out another angry sigh, annoyed at the emotional roller coaster the producers were putting her through. Turning her head to the side, she smiled as she caught sight of the toys she had just been playing with, Buzz and Jessie still wrapped up in each other’s arms. Reaching over, she dragged them closer to her, her one hand that was not trapped under her rearranging them so Jessie was sitting in Buzz’s lap, her head leaning against his chest while his hands rested against her stomach, as if he really was caressing the unborn child that was growing within her. As she stared at them, an idea popped into her head, causing an almost evil smile to play across her lips.

Pushing herself up, Bonnie quickly grabbed the two toys, her eyes wandering around to observe the rest of her childhood play things, examining just how each and every one of them were already perfectly placed for her scheme.

“You know,” she muttered under her breath, her mind filled with all the wonderful things she could do. “Two weeks is a long time…” Gently sliding off of her bed onto the floor, Bonnie brought Buzz up so he was eye level with her, his pale blue gaze waiting expectantly for her to continue.

“You know Buzz, you might be in the good with Jessie, but I really don’t think older brother Woody is going to be very happy with you when he realizes that the whole ‘I’m pregnant’ ploy wasn’t really a ploy. And even with you being his best friend, I really don’t think he’ll be able to overlook the little fact that you’re five years older than her, she’s four months pregnant, and she’s only going to be turning eighteen in a week, do you? But who knows, maybe Woody will see just how happy you two are and will turn the other cheek.” Crouching down so she was in position to start moving her toys the moment the game began, Bonnie flashed Buzz another coy smile before beginning, her final words to him opening the stage for a drama like no other.

“Maybe, but probably not.”


End file.
